Dune pro­tec­tion project

YOUR DUNE

What is the pro­ject »your dune« and why did we set it up?

Anyone who has ever been to Ahoi Camp Feh­marn knows what makes this place so spe­cial: there is hardly a more beau­tiful place to camp in Ger­many clo­ser to the sea. We are aware that this pro­xi­mity to the coast ent­ails risks. Howe­ver, there is hardly any pro­tec­tion against a flood of the cen­tury like the one in autumn 2023, which almost com­ple­tely des­troyed our 800-meter-long sea wall. That’s why it hit us dou­bly hard. Damage cau­sed by a storm surge is not insurable.

Of course, we have built up reser­ves for emer­gen­cies and in 2023/2024, we res­to­red the beach embank­ment in a tour de force and plan­ted it with fresh dune grass tog­e­ther with many vol­un­teer cam­ping fri­ends. Howe­ver, we are no lon­ger able to cope with damage like that in the fall from our own resources.

In future, we want to pro­tect our site more effec­tively against storm sur­ges, which we know from expe­ri­ence only occur in the win­ter months. That’s why we laun­ched the »your dune« pro­ject. In future, we will trans­par­ently charge an addi­tio­nal €2.50 per night and pitch at Ahoi Camp Feh­marn, which will go exclu­si­vely to dune pro­tec­tion. Ins­tead of sowing them first, we plant, for exam­ple, early mar­ram grass and dune grass. This is more expen­sive than pure seed, but ulti­m­ately we are not only buy­ing plants, but above all time on the way to natu­ral pro­tec­tion against storm sur­ges and land loss.

What actually makes dunes so special?

Dunes are natu­ral for­ma­ti­ons of sand that are shaped by the wind. Their func­tion is to pro­tect coast­li­nes from ero­sion by acting as a natu­ral bar­rier. Dunes also pro­vide habi­tats for various plant and ani­mal spe­cies and con­tri­bute to the sta­bi­liza­tion of eco­sys­tems. In addi­tion, dunes can also help to pro­tect the beach from storm sur­ges and floo­ding. Over­all, dunes are the­r­e­fore important ele­ments in coas­tal pro­tec­tion and for the pre­ser­va­tion of biodiversity.

What con­tri­bu­tion can you actively make to pre­ser­ving the dunes?

Your con­tri­bu­tion is very simple: do not enter our (and your) beach wall under any cir­cum­s­tances! BECAUSE: It is also YOUR DUNE.

Impres­si­ons of the dune pro­tec­tion project

10/2023

03/2024

Pho­tos: Kris­tina Höbel, Insta@ein­de­sign­fuer­dich | Ahoi Camp Fehmarn